#37 Southern Eats

One of my favorite things about Winter Break is having extra time to spend with friends from different parts of life.  The first week of the my break was meeting up with some friends at new to me restaurants, both of which feature Southern cuisine, one of my favorites.

My first adventure in Southern eats was Tupelo Honey at The Star in Frisco, celebrating Christmas with Anita & Mitzi.  

We started with appetizers: fried green tomatoes, fried pickles, and biscuits with blueberry jam.  Yes, they were all amazing!  The tomatoes were some of the best I've ever had; definitely the thickest.  And the blueberry jam on the biscuits . . . I would have ordered it a second time for dessert if I hadn't been distracted by the banana pudding.  

For my meal, I went with one of my all-time favorites . . .  chicken and waffles, but with a twist.  Mac and cheese was baked into the waffles.  Yes, you read that correctly - mac and cheese waffles, and yes, you are right, it was delicious.  And it made for a fantastic lunch the next day.

I couldn't leave without trying the banana pudding; luckily they serve these mini versions of their desserts which is all I needed.

A couple of days later, I found myself at Roots Southern Table in my hometown of Farmers Branch, with two of my oldest friends, Kim and Becky.  If the name of this restaurant sounds familiar, that's no surprise.  It's been featured in D Magazine, Texas Monthly, the Dallas Observer, and oh, yeah, the New York Times as one of their top restaurants in 2021 . . . in America!  And yes, it is all that and more.  It's a different Southern eating experience than Tupelo Honey and just as yummy!  We skipped the appetizers and went straight for their signature dish - Duck-Fat Fried Chicken served family style with biscuits.  If you're wondering if Duck-Fat Fried Chicken is any good, the answer is a resounding yes.  It was unbelievably delicious.  And even more delicious the next day for breakfast. The meat was cooked to juicy perfection and the skin was crisp and full of flavor.  Since it felt weird to get a platter of chicken without any sides, we decided to try the Gruyere Potatoes as well.

We ended dinner with the Orange Juice Cake, the perfect size for three people to share.  Our server said it was the most popular dessert and I believe it.  Had it been acceptable behavior, I probably would have picked up the bowl and drank the orange sauce that the warm warm butter cake was doused in.

If you're a fan of Southern eats, then I can't recommend either of these establishments enough.  The food is fabulous and the service was amazing at both places.  If you're going to try Roots, you definitely need a reservation and it wouldn't hurt to have one for Tupelo Honey either.

Cheers to good food and even better times with amazing friends!

#36 Campo Verde

Last Christmas, Anita & I tried to visit Campo Verde, but the timing just didn't work out for us.  Our goal was to make it happen for Christmas 2021 and my #50by50.  If you're not familiar with Campo Verde in Arlington, it's been around for almost 40 years.  It is Tex-Mex and American food, but the food is not what you go for.  A trip to Campo Verde is all about the Christmas experience.  They start decorating in October and leave everything up through March.  And the decorations are intense!  Tinsel and lights and all sorts of Christmas goodness all over the place.  Clark Griswold would love Campo Verde!  

Campo Verde is a holiday tradition in North Texas and it gets bigger every year.  They don't take reservations and it's likely you'll have quite a wait; we waited almost 2 hours on a Sunday afternoon.  Be sure to go when you have plenty of time and you aren't hungry before you even get there.  It's not the most amazing food, but it is definitely a experience you will want to add to your bucket list.

#35 A Day in Denton

Even though I'm a UNT alum (MS in History), I didn't really participate in UNT life like I did in Austin.  I didn't experience a football game or even local eateries.  Most nights I was lucky if I had time to go through a drive-thru before class.  Thanks to Caitlin and Russell Andrews for letting me tag along to the UNT/UTEP Homecoming game this past weekend.  

We had lunch at The RG Burgers & Grill.  Even though they have all sorts of fun gourmet burgers, the cheeseburger came highly recommended so I ordered that.  I opted out of the lettuce because it's shredded and shredded lettuce has no place on a burger.  Other than that, the burger was great!  The bun reminded me of Hawaiian rolls, a touch of sweetness and beautifully grilled for just a bit of golden crispiness.  They use cheddar cheese instead of American and it was perfectly melted over the top of the think meat patty.  This burger was delicious!  It's always a good sign when you have to cut your burger in half in order to manage it.  The burger comes with bottomless steak fries which were good, but nothing to write home about.

After lunch, we headed over to Voertman's to get some UNT gear and Insomnia to satisfy our sweet tooth.  I sampled the S'mores and Snickerdoodle, both of which were super yummy!

The game had a slow start, but ended with a bang.  Unfortunately we missed the most exciting part of the game as the temperature was dropping and we were getting a bit chilled, so we left at the beginning of the 3rd quarter.  The Mean Green won, 20-17, even though UTEP has the better record.  Being Homecoming, there were quite a few festivities, including an amazing performance by the marching band, which has over 400 members.  They took up the whole football field and were fantastic!  Such a joy to watch them and listen to them . . . so much talent!  

#33 & #34 Fun times with Becky!

Becky is one of my oldest friends.  We've known each other since junior high.  We went to school and church together, and got into all sorts of shenanigans when we were younger.  (Ask me about our bike riding days sometime.)  She is full of adventure and is always interested in trying new things, so I knew she'd want to help with my #50by50.

We started our day with lunch at Mena's back in our old stomping grounds of Carrollton.  We enjoyed a delicious lunch on the patio.  Her brisket tacos looked fabulous, but I was perfectly happy with my fajita nachos.  Sturdy, thick chips with just right proportions of beans and melted cheese, topped with tender fajita beef and chicken.  It's a good thing I ordered the the half order, otherwise I would have eaten a whole order by myself they were that scrumptious!

After lunch, we headed to Downtown Dallas for a scavenger hunt with Let's Roam.  This was so much fun!  We picked the The Big Hunt which took us on a 2 mile walking tour of historical points of interest in Dallas.  We started at Dallas City Hall and had about 10 stops.  At each stop, we learned a bit about Dallas history both through the app and at the actual site.  At some of the sites, we even had challenges to complete to earn even more points.  We were lucky the day was so beautiful, especially after the dreary week we had.  This is a really great way to get outside, learn about a city, and spend time with friends or family.  And if you are thinking about Christmas gifts for that hard to buy for person, you should definitely look into this.  Let's Roam has scavenger hunts all over the country and often multiple options for one city.  For example, we did the Big Hunt focusing on Dallas history in downtown, but they also had one for the Arts District and Deep Ellum.

Giant Eyeball

@City Hall

City Hall

@City Hall

JFK Memorial

Old Red

Pegasus @TheOmni

Wrangling cattle @ Pioneer Plaza

#32 Deep Eddy Distillery

Every year, my college roomies and I head to Austin for a game.  Of course, we always want to go to our tried and true places,  but this year, I knew I needed to do at least one new thing.  As soon as we got to town, Diane and I took a little detour to the Deep Eddy Distillery in Dripping Springs.  The weather was perfect, with blue skies and temps in the 70s.  What better way to end a long drive down I-35 than with a cool refreshing drink?

We both enjoyed a flight of vodka.  Tasty, but vodka shots are not really my thing.  I prefer my vodka mixed with something.  So I finished our visit with a rhubarb mojito which was delicious.  If anyone knows where I can get rhubarb bitters, please let me know.   Next time you are in the Austin area, be sure to set aside some time for an afternoon at Deep Eddy.  Even if you aren't a vodka drinker, it's a fun place to just hang out.

#31 Violent Femmes

Just 3 days after seeing Willie Nelson at Toyota Stadium, I was invited by my friend Laura to see the Violent Femmes at the South Side Ballroom.  I don't know that you can have two experiences any more different than those.  And they were both new.  I was a big fan of the Femmes in high school, probably because they were so different than anything I was listening to on the radio.  And listening to songs like Add It Up made me feel rebellious.  But I never saw them in concert not had I ever been to the South Side Ballroom before.  Not only were the Femmes a fantastic show, but there were two opening acts that were also amazing.  I don't recall the name of the first act, but the second act was Me First and the Gimme Gimmes,  They were amazing!  They're a cover band who gives every song they perform a punk sound.  So creative and fun!  And of course, listening to the Violent Femmes took me back to high school.  It was such a fun night!  I guess we had so much fun we forgot to take a selfie.

#30 Willie Nelson

Growing up in Texas, you know who Willie Nelson is and you know his hits.  But that is only the surface.  A few years ago I listened to Willie Nelson's autobiography, read by Willie himself.  Since then, I would listen to the red-headed stranger from time to time.  Then last year, Texas Monthly put out a really great issue on Willie covering the various facets of his life.  About the same time, TM also started a podcast called One by Willie, which features different artists talking about the impact of Willie's songs.  I've become an even bigger fan, often asking Alexa, to "Play me some Willie!"  When I saw that he was going to be performing after an FC Dallas game, I knew what my next #50by50 adventure was and who my partner in crime would be.

We had the option of going on the field to get closer to the stage, but we weren't really in the mood to get mashed up with all the people, so we stayed in our seats.  We were directly across the stage on the opposite side of the field, so we had a great view of the big screens.  Willie is the kind of performer who sits on his stool, plays his guitar, and sings hit after hit.  Nothing flashy, but just a constant stream of hits, occasionally broken up a guitar instrumental.  And that is the Willie way . . . you don't need all the bells and whistles, just his incredibly unique voice telling all the stories, his way.  I am so excited that I was able to see Willie Nelson in concert!  Definitely a bucket list item.  Now to think about all the other concerts I want to see . . . 

#29 A Day with Alpacas!

TX-Ture Farm is a family owned farm in Aubrey that has alpacas, lavender, honeybees, and Christmas trees.  September 25 was National Alpaca Farm Day, so TX-Ture hosted an open house which made it the perfect reason to head north with my friend Jennifer for a fun day at the farm.

The first thing we did was felt some soap.  The farm makes soap, but we got to add alpaca fleece to it.  You pick your colors and use warm water to lather up the soap to adhere the fleece.  The fleece is incredibly soft, like cashmere.  It's a soothing activity and you can't really get it wrong.  The end product is a bar of soap encased in alpaca fleece so you have a built in loofah.

  

I was so excited to do yoga with the alpacas, even though I haven't done yoga since before the pandemic.  But what a fun experience to do yoga outside on a beautiful day with these sweet, gentle creatures walking around you.  When we finished, everyone got a pouch of food and that was super fun to feed them.

TX-Ture has picnic benches, so be sure to take a lunch when you visit.  After our charcuterie board & a lovely bottle of wine, we walked around the rest of the grounds to check out the lavender, the honey bees (from a distance of course), and the young Christmas trees.  We wrapped up our day with a swing through their store where you can get all sorts of fantastic farm-made products.  I may or may not have gotten a couple of Christmas gifts.

A super fun day!  Be sure to check out TX-Ture's Facebook page for future events.  I don't know that it is always open to visitors, but they do have events out there so you can experience the many things they have, not just the alpacas.

#28 Van Gogh

DFW is currently hosting the Van Gogh Immersive Experience.  Luckily, I have a great group of friends who enjoy doing fun things like this, so we headed over to the old Ranger Ballpark to experience the art of Van Gogh in a totally new and different way.

It's not unlike a museum in the sense that art is grouped together by some kind of theme and placards give a bit of background on the artist or the work of art.  What makes this different is that the art isn't the originals and while many of the reproductions were on canvases, much of the art was digital.  I am really wanting to describe the experience to you, but I'm struggling because it is truly immersive and experiential.  Like, you just have got to go do it to really understand.  

My favorite part was the room that was an entire 360 degree projection.  Floor to ceiling covered in constantly changing projections of Van Gogh's work.  This was the bulk of our time, about 20 minutes, listening to some narration and music while all of these gorgeous works surrounded us.  We decided that all workplaces and schools needed a room like this for relaxation.

     

   

We also did the VR option which took us through the French countryside, letting us see 19th century France the way Van Gogh must have seen it as he painted.  That was probably one of the most interesting aspects.  Van Gogh, of course, had mental health issues.  So to hear someone narrating his thoughts, "walking" through the countryside, seeing things as Van Gogh must have seen things really gave you some insight into how Van Gogh created.  Just a really neat experience.

I do think this is a really wonderful family outing, especially if you are looking to expose kids to art, but you don't feel the traditional museum will hold their attention.  The Van Gogh Immersive Experience will absolutely pique the interest of kids (& adults) who may otherwise not visit a museum or gallery.